Park Tools

*** Please check the "Backcountry Facilities" section of the Temporary Road and Facilities Closures for any current trail or campsite closures or contact the Backcountry Office at 865-436-1297.
*** A section of Cooper Road Trail temporarily closed -- between Wet Bottoms Trail and the junction with Beard Cane/Hatcher Mountain Trails -- due to a prescribed burn in the area. The Abrams Falls Trail remains open and those who are traveling from Cades Cove to Abrams Creek Area will want to use that route.
*** Due to a prescribed burn in the Cataloochee area, hikers wishing to access Big Fork TH or Rough Fork TH from March 19th to mid-April will need to park at the Beech Grove school parking area and hike up the road to the trailheads in the upper valley. The trails remain open and accessible.
*** Fontana Dam is closed to vehicle traffic until April 2015 due to a construction project. Hikers can park at the Fontana Dam Visitor Center and walk across a marked route to access the park trailheads, including that for the AT, the Lakeshore Trail and the Benton Mackaye Trail ***

Backcountry Permit System

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The Privacy Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-579), 5 U.S.C. 301, and 43 CFR 2.48(d) require that the National Park Service (NPS) furnish the following information with respect to use of this database and that you agree to these conditions prior to accessing this site.

Collection of this information is authorized by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 4601-6a), the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (P.L. 108-447, Title VIII), 36 CFR Part 71, and 36 CFR 1.6.

The primary use of the information collected is to process an application for a Recreation Use Permit with the NPS. Disclosure of the information is voluntary; however, certain information must be provided to obtain a permit.

Maintenance and disclosure of the information collected is governed by the Department of the Interior Privacy Policy system of records notice for Special Use Permits Privacy Act System of Records, Interior NPS-1. Only the records reflecting personal information are subject to the Privacy Act.

Access: Access to this information is limited to only those officers and employees of the NPS (or its contractors) who have a need for the information in the performance of their duties. Disclosure without the consent of the subject of the information is restricted unless required by the Freedom of Information Act, to those listed in the "routine use" section of NPS-1 for the purposes identified in that section, and to those identified in 43 CFR 2.56. These records may not be altered or destroyed except as authorized by 43 CFR 2.52 and NPS 1.

Criminal Penalties for Disclosure: The Privacy Act contains provisions for criminal penalties for knowingly and willfully disclosing information from this file unless properly authorized. Fines shall not exceed more than $5,000.

SECURITY WARNING

Warning to users of this system: This is a United States Government computer system, maintained by the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, to provide Official Unclassified U.S. Government information only. Use of this system by any authorized or unauthorized users constitutes consent to monitoring, retrieval, and disclosure by authorized personnel. Users have no reasonable expectation of privacy in the use of this system. Unauthorized use may subject violators to criminal, civil, and/or disciplinary action.